Robyn, love the cow find!
1 If we assume that Thomas and Catherine are the "item" that the 1825 newspaper hypocritical ferret article describes, and that Thomas at his age is hardly likely to be being a de facto bigamist, and given Karl Von Stiegltz identification of Mr and Mrs Ransom as the household to which Brady was assigned in mid 1820, I think it is safe to assume that Catherine is the "wife" of Thomas Ransom listed in the October 1819 Land and Stock Muster in Hobart. So she was there in October 1819, but does not appear as McNally in the 1818 Muster of Free women in Hobart. Hobart was a very small town and population in 1818- they all knew each other- she couldn't have been there for long under a different name and changed it toMcNally when she moved in with Thomas Ransom-she was new to Hobart under the name McNally and registered young Thomas as McNally in 1820, but then gradually morphed ntoand known as Mrs Ransom, until she reappears as McNally in Thomas Will in 1829, and subsequently marries Stieglitz as Mcnally in 1830. She was either born McNally or married or cohabited with a McNally
2 It is possible that Skelton and John Cummings knew each other before VDL times. Cummings served in 8th West India Regiment in Dominica concurrently with Skeltons Regiment the 46th Regiment of foot, the South Devonshires. Both regiments were involved in supressing the same rebellion and mutiny together- a small military world. Skelton seems an unimportant cog, and he enters left and dissappears right very quickly. I don't get the feel that he is a significant factor in Ann Cummings life- he is only referred to in Launceston terms,and Ann could not have absconded in Launceston. Also Ann need not have absconded for love interest, even if she might have found it in Hobart,but simply because she had gone off John Cummings.
I got thrown by the suggestion Ann Cummings absconded with John Mcnally! Now that demands a rethink- leaves Mrs McNally (catherine) back in Launceston with Capt Cummings, looking for their other halves together,Catherine looking after the kids,John Cummings goes toHobart,finds the runaways, gets Ann to return, John Mcnally returns too but Catherine walks out, goes to Hobart and meets up with Thomas Ransom-the last bit doesn't ring true.
Ever onwards- David